Read some Joe Abercrombie, or...
I play a lvl 9 Urban Barbarian/Invulnerable Rager Barbarian with an archery build.
I play him as nearing middle age, still strong but not quite what he was in his youth. He has taken up the bow in the last few years, showing great prowess with it, but also wrestling with the fear that he is neither as quick or as strong as he once was and that the wild rush of melee combat may be too much for him now.
He has spent many years now in the more civilized southern lands, functioning as an envoy on behalf of his people. As the years have passed, he has found reasons to spend more and more time away from them, mainly out of shame that he is growing older, slower, less sharp than he once was.
He has grown used to the chaos of cities and towns. He has learned many of the ways of the southern peoples and, while not necessarily approving, he has built up a tolerance of such things. He has adapted some parts of his appearance, speech and dress to better serve as an envoy, in some ways by choice, in other ways just simply becoming used to where he has spent so much time in recent years.
All in all he is older, wiser and more settled in his demeanor, while also harboring a secret shame that he has become too old to be...useful.
Hope that helps.
Think Wolverine.
Edit: Actually he might just be a "civilized" regular barbarian.
Anyways, I just think of it as "the void" from the Wheel of Time series for all forms of rage. A combat trance rather than mouth frothing. This makes the Urban Barbarians rage thing just a little different in that it can apply to dex instead of strength or con.
I'm having a pretty hard time trying to visualize a concept for a Barbarian with the Urban Barbarian Archetype from Ultimate Combat. Every time I try, I just see a muscled half-orc covered in animal pelts walking through a contrasting urban environment.
Is there some way to justify/explain someone being a barbarian who was born and raised in a city? Maybe with an example from a movie or book?
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My advice is to let go of the arch-typical 'Barbarian smash' image and explore the archetype as a flavor all its own. I often times dip Urban Barbarian for my martials and when I do I use the concept of an unusual focus or combat trance where the character in question exercises his will to control his body... think of it something akin to the Flame and the Void as described in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. Another example would be in The Last Samurai when the main character finally 'gets it' in the battle with the soldiers in the street, envisioning the battle as it happens around him. No doubt he was considered to be a Barbarian by many of the locals and by the samurai themselves when they first met him.Don't be a slave to Paizo-imposed flavor. I'm sure they would be the first to encourage you to paint whatever picture you can imagine with the brushes they provide. The mechanics are important for balance purposes, but everything else is just a starting point to be used or discarded as you see fit.
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Barbarians don't have to be foreign mouth foam ragers who wear animal pelts. They can be trained soldiers, nobles, or whatever floats your boat. The only thing they have to be able to really do is rage. Raging doesn't even keep you from using defensive abilities, like crane wing or combat expertise.
Anyways, get away from the idea of barbarians being uncivilized. That's probably the best way to think about it.
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If you want to keep the idea of a Barbarian as a savage, but having an urban flavor and background, just think of some gang members from our own society. Often with little formal education, connected to a brutal tribe and lacking social graces.
I can understand the whole urban/wild dichotomy. Whenever I think of the "urban ranger", all I can think of is steve irwin but with people instead of animals...
"Lookee here, whe've a shopkeeper in it's natural habitat. Very wary of those around him, redy to react at a moment's notice. Now let's go poke it with a stick!"
"Oooh, this is a potentially dangerous situation, whe've got a street tough over there. These very agressive creatures of the city often roam in packs, and react agressively to anyone approaching them. Now let's go poke it with a stick!"
I've yet to make up my mind about an urban druid, but I cant help but think of something silly.
Obviously like Conan the Librarian.
;)
On a more helpful note, take a look at the differences between a Vanilla and and Urban Barbarian. This is no uneducated savage, he is trained in diplomacy, two knowledges, linguistics, maybe profession (accountant). He is well able to fight in crowds and his rage is more a cold, calculated anger with far fewer drawbacks (though maybe less powerful).
I had a Dirty-Harry-like captain of the guard as an Urban Barbarian and it fit quite well.
Obviously like Conan the Librarian.
;)
On a more helpful note, take a look at the differences between a Vanilla and and Urban Barbarian. This is no uneducated savage, he is trained in diplomacy, two knowledges, linguistics, maybe profession (accountant). He is well able to fight in crowds and his rage is more a cold, calculated anger with far fewer drawbacks (though maybe less powerful).
I had a quite Dirty Harry like captain of the guard as and Urban Barbarian and it fit quite well.
Some sort of Marxist revolutionary or underground freedom fighter would also be an ideal fit.
Keyword here is discipline vs instinct, think about a fighter training versus how a barbarian learned to fight, its the same, most street urchins, and street figthers are urban barbarians they have a lot of rage and somehow learned how to focus that into their fists.
Jason "make me a baby" Statham is the perfect example of some pent up rage gone wild, damn he must be awesome in bed. lol
I've yet to make up my mind about an urban druid, but I cant help but think of something silly.
Completely agreed, until I read Blood of the City. It works!
Sam Vimes from Discworld would be an urban barbarian, in my opinion. He's very disciplined most of the time, but he does have an extremely aggressive "beast" inside that he only unleashes rarely. I'd stat him up as an urban barbarian/rogue.
A street thug isn't a bad way to go for an urban barbarian, either. It's a person who gets angry and has learned to channel that anger.
Yeah, sam vimes might be good example. I think I'll try to stat that out.
Remember, class is not concept, concept is not class. Pick any random guy who fights ticked off. Could be a thug, could be a militiaman, could be a scholar with a bad temper. Could be a guy who goes into a tranquil fury instead of a screaming one.
Think Brock Sampson (WARNING: violence, blood).
Imagine the slums and the kids that grow up there, the kind of warriors that they can come to be.
The way I visualized my Urban Barbarian/Vivisectionist is a street urchin growing up in the darkest most savage slums where the rules are not too different from those of a jungle, fighting for scraps and a place under the sun. A city can be a savage place, and can breed savages, though slightly more civil than barbarians outside the walls.
Story wise, as a kid, he was a smart, quick and brutal leader of a street gang of urchins, got picked up by a nasty cult who trained him in the arts of assassinations and body augmentation. But street dreams of freedom and grandeur die hard, so he ditched those bastards as soon as he had a chance, to carve a name for himself as an adventurer.
Yeah, sam vimes might be good example. I think I'll try to stat that out.
I would actually point you towards a very, very helpful post someone made to me a while back:
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2mrb1?Whats-the-best-archetype-for-a-town-guard #4
While most default town guards could of course just be fighters (using polearms for improved stylishness ;) ), that class lacks sense motive and diplomacy as class skills.
If you really want to follow the footsteps of Sam Vimes, let's take a closer look at him.
- lawful at heart, even if he sometimes bends laws in order to do justice.
- his sense of justice is so strong that it was even able to fend off the attempts to possess him by a 'quasi-demonic thing of pure vengeance -> Chevalier PrC (Stubborn Mind)
- effective and brutal hand-to-hand fighter, who specialises in "dirty fighting". He also prefers non-lethal takedowns whenever possible.
- equip: battered old watch armor (breastplate), sword and truncheon (nightstick)
- found and still pays the 'Watch Widows and Orphans Fund'
- does his duty on foot -> only Cavalier or Paladin archetypes that replace mount / divine bond with something else
- in extreme situations, his darker side comes out and he effectively 'goes spare', yet he never totally loses control -> Urban Barbarian
- recieved knighthood -> Cavalier or Chevalier PrC
- dislikes nobility, protects the common folk -> Cavalier (Order of the Shield)
- survived nine murder attempts
- could tell exactly where he was anywhere within the city limits of Ankh-Morpork just by the feel of the cobbles beneath his feet (until his wife urged him to wear new boots) -> Urban Ranger (!)
- "old school" speciesist, especially hates vampires. -> Ranger, fav. enemy undead.
- has personally disigned and installed various traps around his family house and the watch headquarters. -> Trapsmith Rogue, Trapper Ranger
- distrusts clues and loathes mysteries, yet is personally investigating important crime scenes -> Investigator Rogue
- has no spellcasting abilities -> Paladin & Inquisitor are outSo... If I wanted to build Sam Vimes, I'd start with an Urban Trapper Ranger. With that combination, you have almost everything you need.
Include either the Suspicious trait and/or a few levels of Order of the Shield Cavalier (in that case, use Standard Bearer archetype to get rid of the mount) and/or Investigator Rogue - every one of the three gives you Sense Motive as a class skill, the latter additionally gives you double rolls on Diplomacy (Gather Information).
Take Chevalier PrC to gain Stubborn Mind.
Take the improved dirty trick feats.
Add a few levels of Urban (Superstitious) Barbarian if you want a mechanical backup to focus on the whole "dark side" thing.That said... how about that:
Urban Trapper Ranger 11 / Standard Bearer Cavalier of the Order of the Shield 2 / Investigator Rogue 2 / Urban Barbarian 2 / Chevalier 3
Motorcycle gang enforcer
Remember the A Team BA, or the big guys BA fought in every episode at the first comercial break.